Wood-splint-cutting machine.



F. SCHAPER. WUOD SPLINT OUTTING MACHINE. APPLIoATIoN FILED 111111.20, 190s.

Patented Mar.21, 1911.

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F. SGHAFER.

A woon SPLINT GUTTING MAUHINE.

APPLIOLTION FILED APB.. 20, 190B. i A .987,1-74 Patented Mar. 21,1911.

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1". SGHAPER.

WOOD SPLINT CUTTING MACHINE. APPLIUATION FILED APILZO, 1908.

Patented Mar, 21, 1911.

Wm if F. SGHAFER.

.WOOD SPLINT GUTTING MACHINE.

APrLwuIoN HLBD Ammo, laos.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4 E'. SCHAFER. WOOD SPLINT CUTTING MACHINE. f M PLIQATION FILED Ammo, 190s.

Patented Mar. 21,1911.

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FRANK SGHAFER, 0F RONDA7 NORTH CAROLINA.

WOOD-SPLINT-CUTTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 21, 191.1..

Application iled April 20, 1908. Serial No. 428,000.

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRANK Sci-Minen, a citizen of the United States, residingl at Ronda, count-y of Wilkes, State of North Carolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in Wood-Splint-Cutting Machines, which improvements are fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in wood splint cutting machines and it consists of adjustable means whereby the block of wood is raised from the top of the cutters while the cutters are moving backward after cutting the splints and novel means of giving the cutters a lateral movement in the crosshead while the latter is reciprocating.

It also consists of details of construction all as will be hereinafter set forth.

Figure l represents a side elevation of a. machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 represents an end view of a rear portion of the machine. Fig. 4 represents, on an enlarged scale, a side elevation of a portion of the block feeding hopper, vertical sliding studs, lifting springs, flange and quick acting cams holding the hopper down on the boX guide. Fig. 5 is an end view thereof. Fig. G is a. view similar to Fig. 4 showing the position of the block feeding hopper when raised by the lifting springs. Fig. 7 is an end view thereof. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the reciprocating crosshead showing the lateral moving slide for the cutter block, the cam which moves same and the shaft and gear which rotates the cam. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of Fig. 8 with the plate 14 removed. Fig. 10 is a view of the gear operating the cam shown in Figs. 8 and 9 and showing the slots for rotating the cam shaft. Fig. 11 is an enlarged pla-n view of the cutter block and knife. Fig. 12 is a rear view of Fig. 11 with the back plate partly broken away. Fig. 13 is a plan view of the lateral moving slide for holding the cutter block. Fig. 14 is a side elevation of same. Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a single length match splint, full size. Fig. 16 is an enlarged'view of the rear end of the crosshead, slide and cutter block showing one position of the action of the laterally moving cam showing the cutters advancing into a block of wood. Fig. 17 is a view similar to Fig. 16 showing the position of the slide, cutter-block and lateral movement" cam* on the next c ut. Fig.

18 is a View, partly sectional, showing the block feeding hopper, feed rfilleraspring and clamp for holding the blocks of wood. Fig. 19 is a view of the bearing in which the gear revolves that operates the cam shaft 12.

Similar numerals indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings: 1 designates a,

suitable frame having bearings which support the driving shaft 2 having a crank 6 to which is connected the rod 7 which reciprocates the c-rosshead 8 moving in suitable ways on the frame 1 and which is held in place by the box guides 9. (See Figs. 1 and 3). The shaft 2 also has secured to it the belt wheel 3, balance wheel 4 and sprocket 5.

10 designates a slide which moves laterally in suitable ways in the cro-sshead 8 and has elongated holes 12El thro-ugh which passes shaft 12 to which is secured a selflocking cam 11 which is confined in a suitable opening in the slide 10 by a plate 14. The shaft rotates in suitable holes bored in the crosshea-d and is prevented from sliding lengthwise by the collars 13. (See Figs. 8 and 9.)

15 designates suitable ways cut in the slide 10 in which fits the cutter block 16 which is held in place by taper pins which fit in the holes 17. (See Figs. 11 and 13.)

1S designates grooves in the cutter block 16 in which fits the cutters 19 which vare held in place by the plates 2() each of which clamps two cutters, and are clamped by the screws 21 going through the plate 22 which is forced tightly in suitable grooves in cutter block 16. (See Figs. 11 and 12.)

23 designates a knife secured by suitable screws to the top of the cutter block 16 and in front of the cutters 19. l

24 designates a chain which runs over the sprocket 5 hereinbefore mentioned and which drives the sprocket 25 secured to shaft 2G ruiming in bearings 26a, also secured to shaft 26 is the sprocket 27 on which runs the chain 28 which drives the sprocket 29 secured to shaft 30. JAlso secured to shaft 30 is the miter gear 31a which meshes with a similar miter gear 32 secured to shaft 33 also secured to shaft` 33 is a gear 34 which meshes with a gear twice as large 35, the shafts 30, 33 and gear 35 rotate in the bearing 81. (See Figs. 1, 2 and 19.)

36 designates slots in t-he gear 35 in which the long keys or splines 37 of the cam shaft 12 slides. (See Fig. 10.) Also secured to shaft 2G are the miter gears 3S which mesh with similar miter gears 39 secured to the shaft 40, one of the shafts 40 is omitted in Fig. 2), which run in bearings 41 secured to the top of box guide 9.

45 designates the movable block frame which extends across the machine on top of box guides 9 and between the bearings 41, (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3), and has suitable bosses bored to fit the studs 46 and the flanges 49, the studs 46 act as guides for thev up and down movement of the frame 45, the downward movement of which is caused by the quick acting cams 42 secured to shaft 40 and which act on friction rollers 43 rotat `ing on suitable hardened steel pins on the bearings 44 secured to the top of the frame (See Figs, 1, 2, 4 and 6.) The vupward movement is caused by the springs 48 pushing against the flanges 49 which slide on the studs 50 and are secured to frame 45 by screws.

The pressure of the springs 48 can be varied by screwing the flange farther' in or out and the upward movement is adjusted by the nuts 47 on the stud 46. The studs 46 and 50 are bolted to the top of box guide 9. The cams 42 push down nand hold tight to the top of the box guides 9 the .frame 45 during the cutting of the splints from the bottom side of the blocks and as the cutters arrive at the end of the cut the cams have rotated to such position that the springs 48 push the frame 45 upward so that the blocks of wood are held clear of the cutters during their return movement. Also secured to shaft 26 is an eccentric 51 which operates eccentric rod 52 the end of which terminates in a hook 53 which operates the ratchet wheel 54 secured to shaft 55 to which is also secured gear wheel 56 which meshes with a gear wheel 57 secured to shaft 58, the shafts 55 and 58 run in suitable boxes in ways out in the frame 45 and held in place by straps 71, to the other end of these shafts are secured the two gears 59 and 60 respectively, which mesh with gears 61 and 62 secured to the feed rollers 63 between which the blocks of wood 64 are fed, the feed rollers 63 also running in suitable boxes directly under the shafts 55 and 59. (See Figs. 1 and 18.)

Secured to the vback of the frame 45 is a bar 642L to which is secured the springs 65 which push against the dogs 66 guided by the straps 67, these dogs holding the wood in position. (See Fig. 18.)

68 designates suitable guide ways secured to the top of frame 45 for the purpose of guiding the blocks of wood to the feed rollers.

69 designates a ratchet dog for holding the ratchet wheel 54 from moving backward and is kept in contact by the spring 70.

71 designates straps which hold the boxes of the shafts 55 and 58 and the feed rollers 63 "in place.

72 designates a square end on the shaft 55 to which a suitable handle is fitted so that if it is desired to turn out the blocks of wood by hand, the eccentric rod 52 is turned over to the left and the ratchet dog 69 held out of contact with the ratchet wheel 54 when the blocks of wood can be turned out of the machine.

`The operation is as follows: The blocks of wood are placed in the guides 68 one upon the other and motion being imparted to shaft 2 from any suitable source as by a belt running on pulley 3 which rotates the sprocket wheel 5, chain 24, sprocket 25 and shaft 26 and causes the eccentric` 51, eccentric rod 52 and dog 53 to impart an intermittent motion to the ratchet wheel 54 which bymeans of the ,shafts 55 and 58, gears 59 and 60 meshing with gears 61 and 62 and these rotating the feed rollers 63 causing the feeding of the blocks of wood 64 at every revolution of the shaft 2. The shaft 26 also rotates the miter gears 38 and 39, shaft 40 and quick acting cams 42 which cause the downward movement of the frame 45 and holds it in this position during the cutting of the splints and when the cutters arrive at the end of the block and the cams have rotated to a certain position the springs 48 lift up the frame 45 so that the blocks of wood are clear of the cutters during the return movement. The distance of the upward movement of the frame can be adjusted by the nuts 47. (See Figs. 4 and 6). The rotation of the shaft 2 also reciprocates the crosshead 8 by means of the crank 6 and connecting rod 7 said crosshead carrying with it the laterally moving slide 10, cutterblock 16 and cut-ters 19, the reciprocation of the crosshead also causes the cam shaft 12 to slide in the gear 35 by means of the collars 13, the gear 35 is rotated by gear 34 shaft 33, miter gears 32 and 31a shaft 30, sprocket 29 chain 28 and sprocket 27 secured to shaft 26. The blocks of Wood having been fed do-wn by the feed rollers 63 are caused to pass by the dogs 66 until they get in line with the cutters 19, the crosshead which reciprocates constantly carries with it the cutters 19 which cut from the bottom sides of the blocks 64 the splints, it will be not-ed that the crosshead reciprocates a little more than twice the length of the splint or blocks and the purpose of which is to give time for the down feeding of the blocks, the up and down motion of the hopper 45 and the lateral motion of the slide 10, all of which occur approximately as follows: Assuming that the crosshead has completed its cut and is in the position shown in Fig. 1, the quick acting cams 42 now release the frame 45 which is immediately pushed upward by the springs 48 carrying the blocks with it and leaving a space between the tops of the cutters and the bottom of the blocks of wood for the return movement of the cutters. As soon as the cutters have passed the end of the block, the cam 11 now begins to move the slide 10 and cutter block 16 to the left as shown in Fig. 17 which movement is completed before the cutters again advance into the blocks, as the cutters advance the quick acting cams are rotating and push down the frame 45, the contour of the cam 42 being such that it holds the frame down tight on the box-guide 9 during the time that the cutters 19 are cutting the splints from y the under side of the block 64, at the same time that the cutters are advancing and the cams 42 are pushing the frame 45 downward, the eccentric rod 52 and dog 53 are turning the ratchet wheel 54 secured to shaft 55 to the left, this turns the shaft 55 to which is also secured the gear 56 which meshes with a similar gear 57 secured to shaft 58. To the outer end of these shafts are secured the gears 59 and 60 which mesh with gears 61 and 62 respectively. These are secured to the feed rollers 63 which are corrugated or grooved and the teeth of which cut into the blocks of wood and rotating together thus feeding the blocks of wood downward. As the feed rollers and gears are mounted on the movable frame 45 the vertical movement of which does not effect the feeding of the blocks. This takes place during the time the quick acting cams 42 are moving the frame 45 downward and just as the crosshead begins its forward movement and is completed before the cutters enter the blocks of wood. rI`he amount fed is one half the thickness of the diameter of a splint because the cutters are placed one half their thickness apart and this leaves a tongue of wood standing between them at each cut and on the next cut this is cut into a splint by having the slide moved laterally each cut so as to bring the cutter in line with the center of this tongue of wood which thus cuts an approximately round splint and without cutting any shavings thus avoiding any waste of material. (See Figs. 16, 17 The cam 11,l is so shaped that during one quarter revolution or during the time that the cutters are advancing into the wood it locks the slide 10 as best seen in Figs. 16 and 17. It will be noted that the opposite sides of the cam are arcs of circles which do not permit the slide 10 to move during the cutting of the splints although the shaft and cam are rotating.

The dogs 66 hold the blocks of wood until they are entirely cut up into splints, the knife 23 being for the purpose of cutting off any wood that may accidentally be below the proper thickness of a splint.

The tension of the springs 48 may be varied by the screws holding the iange 49 and the distance that the frame 45 moves may be varied by the nuts 47, it will be noted that the stud 50 and the flange 49 also form a slide or guide the same as the stud 46. Splints of different length can be cut by substituting frames having the feed rollers 63 and guides 68 spaced apart to suit whatever length of splint it is desired to cut.

The cam shaft 12 is constantly rotated by gear 35 and also slides through this gear by means of the reciprocation of the crosshead the rotary movement being caused by the slots 36 and the keys 37 which are directly opposite one another on the periphery of the shaft 12 and which are securely fase,

tened thereon, the cam is also self locking holding the slide 10 in a fixed position in the cross head during the cutting of the splint. revolution while the crosshead makes a complete reciprocation as the gear 34 is one half as largenas the gear 35. (See Fig. 19.)

If it is desired to stop the feeding of the blocks the eccentric rod 52 is lifted up and turned over to the left when it rests on a suitable bracket (not shown). Two or more cutter blocks 16 can be made to fit the slide 10 so that when a cutter breaks the cutterblock can be removed, a new cutterblock inserted in a few seconds and the machine again started and a new cutter placed in the former cutterblock at any suitable time.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. In a wood splint cutting machine, a main frame, a crosshead guided by box guides, a vertically moving block feeding hopper resting on springs and havingfeed rollers mounted therein and bearings on said box guides in which rotate shafts carrying quick acting cams contacting with friction rollers on said movable block feeding hopper.

2. In a wood splint cutting machine, a main frame, /a crosshead guided by box guides, a vertically moving block feeding hopper resting on springs and having feed rollers mounted therein, bearings on said box guides in which rotate shafts carrying quick acting cams contacting with friction rollers on said movable block feeding hopper and stud bolts secured to said box guides acting as slides for the movement of the block feeding hopper and'hrwing` adjustable means thereon for limiting the upward movement of the movable block feeding hopper.

3. In a wood splint cutting machine, a main frame, a crosshead guided by box guides, a vertically moving block feeding hopper resting on springs and having feed rollers mounted therein, bearings on said box guides in which rotate shafts carrying quick acting cams contacting with friction rollers on said movable block feeding hopper, stud bolts secured to said box guides The cam shaft 12 makes but a half acting as slides for the movement of the hopper and having adjustable means thereon for limiting the upward movement of the movable block feeding hopper and stud bolts encircled by springs Which lift the movable block feeding hopper, said springs contacting With iianges sliding on said stud bolts and means for causing said flanges to increase or decrease the pressure of said springs.

4. In a Wood splint cutting machine, a reciprocating crosshead carrying a laterally moving slide to which is removably secured a cutterhead having single spaced cutters therein, a continuously rotating cam journaled in said crosshead and reciprocating therewith, said cam moving the slide alternately and intermittently in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of said crosshead and locking said* movable slide in a fixed position during a portion of the movement of said crosshead.

5. In a Wood splint cutting machine, a reciprocating crosshead moving in Ways on a main frame and guided by box guides and having a slide therein moving laterally and carrying a cutter block having spaced cutters secured therein adapted to cut an approximately round splint, said slide being moved by a cam secured to a shaft rotating in said crosshead and reciprocating therewith said shaft sliding in a gear during the rotation thereof and While the crosshead is reciprocating.

G. In a Wood splint cutting machine, a vertically moving adjustable block feeding hopper, feed rollers mounted therein and holding blocks of Wood, a reciprocating crosshead moving in Ways on a main frame and guided by box guides and having a slide therein moving laterally and carrying a cutterblock having spaced cutter knives secured therein which leave a tongue of Wood between each cutter at each cut and said slide moving laterally to bring' the critter' in line with the center of said tongue of wood so as to cut an approximately round splint.

7. In a Wood splint cutting machine, a movable block feeding hopper resting on springs and guided by stud bolts and quick acting cams for actuating the hopper, feed rollers journaled therein, means for moving said feed rollers intermittently and a reciprocating crosshead carrying a self locking cam for actuating a laterally moving slide, said slide having a cutterblock removably secured therein by taper pins and single cutters spaced and secured therein adapted to cut approximately round splints.

S. In a Wood splint cutting machine, a movable block feeding hopper resting on springs and guided by st-ud bolts `and quick acting cams for actuating the hopper, feed rollers journaled therein, means for moving said feed rollers intermittently, a crosshead moving horizontally and carrying a self locking cam for actuating a laterally moving slide, said slide holding' a cutterblock and spaced cutters therein, said hopper moving from the plane of travel of said crosshead at the beginning of its backward or return stroke and toward it during the first half of its forward stroke and held stationary during the latter half thereof or during the time the cutters are in contact With the block of Wood.

9. In a Wood splint cutting machine, a vertically moving adjustable block feeding hopper, feed rollers mounted therein and holding blocks of Wood, a reciprocating crosshead moving in Ways on a main frame and guided by box guides and having a slide therein moving alternately and intermittently in a direction transverse to the direction of motion of said crosshead and carrying' a c'utterblock having spaced cutter' knives secured therein in alinement, said cutter knives clamped in pairs by a plate and set screws.

l0. In a Wood splint cutting machine, a reciprocating crosshead moving in Ways on a main frame and guided by box guides, a movable block feeding hopper on said box guides resting on springs and sliding on stud bolts, bearings on said box guides in which rotate shafts to which are secured quick acting' cams contacting With friction rollers on said hopper, feed rollers mounted therein holding blocks of Wood, a slide in said crosshead moving laterally and carrying a cutter' block having single cutter knives secured therein having a space between them of approximately one half the thicknessof a splint and means for moving said slide approximately three quarters of the thickness of a splint and means for feeding the Wood approximately one half the thickness of a splint, the movements of said slide and hopper taking place when the cutters are out of contact With the raw material and the combination of both movements in conjunction with the cutters cutting approximately round splints Without any shavi'gs or Waste.

FRANK SGHAFER.

Witnesses WV. A. STRoUD, G. C. PorLrN. I

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

